STANDING TALL: Jason Kenny Speaks at the Calgary Stampede (The Epoch Times)

Jason Kenny, wearing a ten gallon hat, made an unusual announcement at the Calgary (Canada) Stampede. He is Canada's Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. The Stampede is an annual 10-day celebration of the cowboy spirit.

Minister Kenny took the image of the cowboy, a Western symbol of freedom and independence, to a new height for the people of China.

At a rally, Kenny said that he will personally attend the naturalization ceremony of Mr. Decheng Lu, one of the Tiananmen Square Three Heroes, who threw paint-filled eggs at the gigantic Mao portrait hung on the Gate of the Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen). It was a courageous act of defiance against a symbol of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) dictatorship during the 1989 student-led democracy movement.

Lu is a native of Liu Yang, 46 miles from Mao’s hometown in Hunan Province. He grew up during Mao's Cultural Revolution. That time time gave Lu the rawest experience with the CCP’s brutality.

Lu saw Red Guards looting temples and churches, crushing classical Chinese culture, torturing and humiliating university professors in public.

He wanted the regime to end. That simple thought prompted his act. Lu was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment. Lu was not a student leader nor a university professor. He was a truck driver, an ordinary Chinese citizen, with the courage to deface an icon of dictatorship.

Lu was tortured in jail, both physically and psychologically. He is luckier than his two friends. One got a life sentence. The other was driven to insanity in jail.

Lu was released in 1998. He escaped to Thailand, traveled through Burma, and landed in Calgary, Canada in March, 2008. Jason Kenny worked hard to bring Lu to Canada.

Lu’s outcome is what Kenny wants for all who are fighting for freedom from the Chinese Communist Party. Joined by hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners and by members of the Legislative Assembly for Calgary, Kenny said, “The Stampede is all about celebrating Western culture, the cowboy and ranch culture, which is based on a deep belief in personal freedom, and that is what we ask for Falun Dafa practitioners in China and around the world. That is what we celebrate here in Canada”.

Kenny thanked Falun Gong practitioners for “always reminding us about the victims of religious and political persecution around the world.”

He recognized the abuses of communism. “We must learn from the lessons of history and we must not repeat them. We must remember that there continue to be victims today. Millions of Canadians came here fleeing oppression from communist regimes. We all acknowledge massive crimes against humanity like the Holocaust. While the Holocaust is unique and singular in history, we should also recognize other massive crimes against humanity, such as the crimes of communism."

Kenny's remarks brought tears to one Chinese immigrant among the audience members. Ms. Ye said, "I am very touched to hear what he said. I wish people in China could hear it."

Mr. Neil Brown, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Calgary-Nose Hill reminded people that the CCP is a real threat to Western society. He said the Chinese Consulate in Calgary has contacted many local government officials in Calgary and asked for cooperation in their fight against Falun Gong in Canada. Mr. Brown said that he would do what he should do, and would not be affected by the CCP.

At the end of the rally, Kenny said he would invite representatives from the Chinese Consulate in Calgary to join him at Mr. Lu’s naturalization ceremony.

He said, "No one better reminds us of the inherent dignity of the human person or the universal call to justice than the innocent victims of persecution, violence and war. My own experience with such people tells me that they give more to us than we can ever give to them. They quietly teach us about the sanctity of human life. They remind us that the liberty which we take for granted every day is a jewel without price.”